Undercover teen exposes Amber Valley pubs

Nick Charity

Four Amber Valley pubs have been reprimanded for failing an undercover Challenge 25 test by police.

The four pubs, which were not named by police, were given fixed penalty notices after selling alcohol to someone under the age of 18 during a test purchase operation.

Officers from the area’s licensing team joined forces with representatives from Trading Standards during the initiative, which saw young volunteers under the age of 18 visit seven pubs in the borough to order drinks and determine if staff would ask them for ID.

And out of the seven pubs, only three passed the test,

Positive action was taken by police during follow up visits on the night of the operation and four fixed penalty notices were issued to staff who sold alcohol to people under the age of 18.

PC Daryl Robotham from the Amber Valley licensing team said: “If someone is lucky enough to look under 25 years old, they should be asked to prove that they are 18 years old or over when they buy alcohol. Bar, club and restaurant owners must ensure that they are sticking to the Challenge 25 test and make sure that all staff members are abiding by this too.

“It is against the law to sell alcohol to someone under 18 anywhere and it can lead to a maximum fine of £20,000 for bar staff and managers, or premises may eventually be shut down. Unfortunately during this operation, some premises failed the test and were dealt with accordingly with fixed penalty notices.

“Officers are planning to undertake more test purchase operations in the future to continue our work to clamp down on the sale of alcohol to underage people.

“I would urge anyone who has any questions around the sale of alcohol to contact the licensing department at Chesterfield Police Station on 101.”

A police spokesperson added that the pubs could be not be named unless they were displaying far more serious issues, and reminded that only a fixed penalty was issued.